Boris Johnson is at the despatch box for PMQs.

Image source, Getty Images

It used to be a fringe obsession ignored by the political mainstream.

So how did Euroscepticism conquer Britain?

Our reporter Brian Wheeler looks at the rise of the anti-EU movement and how it won its battle.

Read more here.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Back to Brussels, where members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament are holding a farewell event for the UK MEPs heading home for the last time.

MEP Theresa Griffin, European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans and MEP Iratxe Garcia Perez are pictured listening to the European Parliament President David Sassoli.

He tells the audience "it's not over yet" as he dreams of his children seeing the UK rejoin the EU in the future.

The French "au revoir" literally translates as "goodbye until we meet again"...

House of Commons
Parliament

First up in the Commons today is questions to the international development department.

We expect this to last for 30 minutes until Boris Johnson takes to the despatch box for Prime Minister's Questions.

Nigel Farage has said the European Union is "fundamentally anti-democratic". He was speaking in the European Parliament just two days before the UK leaves.

Listen above or here.

Brexiteers and Remainers are having one last battle before the UK leaves the EU on Friday - but it might not be on the battleground you expect.

The two sides are, in fact, fighting it out at the top of the charts to get the number one spot on 31 January.

A version of "Ode to Joy" - the European Union's official anthem and the adopted theme of those who want to stay in the bloc - by Andre Rieu is currently leading the race in Amazon downloads.

But comedian Dominic Frisby is in at number two for Team Brexit with the song "17 million...", well, we can't finish the song title without breaking our rules on swearing.

Who will come out top of the pops? Just two days until we find out!

Westminster Hall

Image source, HoC

Foreign Office minister Heather Wheeler says that British National (Overseas) passports were developed as part of the "delicate" negotiations between the UK and China before the territory was removed from British control.

She says the government continues to believe that the best course of action is for those in Hong Kong to receive rights and protections as outlined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984.

It is not right for BNO passports to have their rights changed at this time, she says.

She adds that the government will continue to listen to concerns raised by those with BNO passports.

Westminster Hall

Image source, HoC

In Westminster Hall, MPs are debating the rights of British passport holders in Hong Kong.

Former minister Stephen Hammond is starting the debate.

He says MPs "must speak up" when rights are being eroded in the territory.

He says those in Hong Kong have British National (Overseas) passports, and are not allowed to travel as freely as those with British passports.

There have been calls to strengthen the rights of those on BNO passports, he adds.

There have been more than six months of often violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong - orignally against a bill which would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited from Hong Kong to mainland China.

It raised fears that the new law would be abused to detain dissidents and remove them from the territory.

Image source, Getty Images

Many MEPs may already be packed up and ready to leave the EU behind, but one has made a surprise last minute entrance.

Heather Anderson has taken up the SNP seat vacated by Alyn Smith - who became an MP in December's general election - even though it will only mean sitting for four days.

She will be in Brussels today to vote on the withdrawal agreement, before leaving again on Friday with the rest of the UK's representatives.

The Brexit Party MEP and chairman Richard Tice said it showed the "extravagant madness of Brussels".

But Ms Anderson said she was "delighted to be taking up my post, if only for a few days".

Despite the number of headline-grabbing stories today - from the coronavirus to Huawei - the Labour whips' office says there will not be any government statements or urgent questions in the Commons today...

Image source, Getty Images

As the clock strikes 23:00 GMT on Friday, 31 January, the 73 MEPs who represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the European Parliament will bid farewell to their roles.

For some of them, there is only delight and relief as the UK approaches Brexit. For others, there have been tears and goodbye hugs.

"How I am feeling is how somebody feels when you have a redundancy and a bereavement at the same time," says Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, who has represented south-west England since 2014.

It's been a tearful goodbye and a "grim, grim week", she says, during a break from packing up her Strasbourg office.

But, in contrast, Brexit could not have come soon enough for Jake Pugh.

"We are delighted," says the Brexit Party MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber. "We were hired to be fired."

He is one of 29 Brexit Party MEPs who were elected in last May's European elections - a vote many considered as confirmation of the UK's desire to leave the EU.

Read more about the MEPs saying goodbye after Brexit here.

Image source, EPA

You may expect people to be a little hesitant of joining a party that just suffered its worst election defeat since 1935.

But apparently, there are more than 100,000 who are not worried about that.

It turns out the Labour Party's membership has gone up by 114,000 since its defeat in December's vote.

The figure was confirmed to the party's National Executive Committee on Tuesday as it readies itself for a new leader.

Sir Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Emily Thornberry are still in the running to replace Jeremy Corbyn.

And another 14,700 people have paid £25 to be "registered supporters", allowing them to vote for his successor.

Read more about it here.

PMQs is at noon today, but there are also two Opposition day debates scheduled for this afternoon. We don't know whether urgent questions or statements are scheduled yet - they don't appear on the order paper as they are last minute additions to Commons business.

European Parliament
Brussels

Asked about his future plans, Mr Farage says the Brexit Party will not "vacate the battlefield".

"If they drop the ball again, I'm going to make sure I'm there to catch it," he says.

He says he would have preferred to leave the EU without a deal, but says he will take Boris Johnson at his word and vote to ratify the PM's deal this afternoon.

"I can't be King Canute and stop the tide," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are gearing up for yet another vote, but this time the battle is in the committee corridor.

A total of 15 jobs are up for grabs as chairs of select committees, ranging from science and technology to international trade, with 40 candidates fighting it out.

A number of the roles - 13 to be precise - went uncontested, with only one MP in the running.

But for the others, votes will take place between 10:00 GMT and 16:00, and the results will be announced in the Commons some point after.

European Parliament
Brussels

Image source, EBU

Asked about the lack of a further referendum before Brexit happens, Mr Farage says there "wasn't any great appetite or desire to vote again".

There's another question about whether he stands by previous predictions he has made that the UK will not be the last country to leave the EU.

In reply, Mr Farage admits that Eurosceptic groups have "softened their campaigns" after watching the UK "make a horlicks" of leaving.

But he says he stands by his prediction - and although he does not know which country will next choose to leave, he says Denmark, Poland and Italy are "up there".